


...And Gives Me Endless Support

by LadyKailitha



Series: Love asks me no questions, and gives me endless support [2]
Category: Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators (TV)
Genre: Actors, Background Case, M/M, References to Shakespeare, Shakespeare Quotations, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29436423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKailitha/pseuds/LadyKailitha
Summary: The play is on! But the course of true love never did run smooth. Especially not when actors' egos are involved.Love is in the air, but when you work for Frank Hathaway and Luella Shakespeare, murder is, too.
Relationships: Sebastian Brudenell/Rory Harrison, Sebastian Brudnell & Viola Deacon
Series: Love asks me no questions, and gives me endless support [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2073063
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	...And Gives Me Endless Support

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I was at least able to get the first chapter up in time, but January and February has been really rough for me and it's hard to write when you have no energy. 
> 
> I have the second chapter typed up, but not edited. So the plan is updating once a week, but I won't guarantee anything. 
> 
> Enjoy!!

Sebastian twittered nervously at the door to the theater. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was going to star in his first production where he wasn't the understudy. The role of Jules was all his. Now if he only had courage to walk through that door and actually take it.

He lost his nerve when he reached for the door and whirled around, straight into someone else.

"Oh, sorry!" he exclaimed.

"Where were you going in such a rush?" the warm tones of "the greatest actor of his age" (if the Times were to be believed) asked.

Sebastian's fluttering heart stopped. He gulped. "Rory!" he squeaked. He cleared his throat. "I was just going to grab my script. I forgot it, you see."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Would that be the script in your hand?"

Sebastian looked down and blushed. "Oh, right. I'd forgot that I hadn't forgotten it."

"You wouldn't be bailing on me, would you?" Rory asked, batting his eyelashes in faux innocence.

"Of course not!" Sebastian protested.

"Good!" Rory chirped excitedly. He spun Sebastian back around and held the door open for him. "After you."

Sebastian nodded and hopped to. Rory grinned and followed him in.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Sebastian asked as they made their way to the auditorium. "I thought you were just the producer."

"I don't think I actually said that," Rory teased.

Sebastian frowned. "No, but it was heavily implied."

Rory laughed and would say nothing else until they got to the stage.

The rest of the cast was waiting for them as well as the director. The director seemed to be the nervous type, even more nervous than Sebastian felt and this didn't help ease them in anyway.

"Rory!" the director said, turning to them and smiling. "This must be your friend."

"Simon, this is Sebastian Brudenell," Rory said, indicating to the man at his side. "This is Simon Davies, our director."

The two shook hands.

"I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing this," Sebastian enthused. "I do feel a little bad that I got the part without an audition though."

Simon chuckled. "Well, if you bring the same level of class that you did to Hamlet I don't think I needed one."

Sebastian's eyes widened. "You saw that?"

"Sure," Simon said with a smile. "You're really talented. And of course our producer wanted to surprise you and an audition would have spoiled the fun."

He turned beet-red. "I hope I don't disappoint."

Rory bumped him with his shoulder. "You couldn't."

Simon's smile turned into grin. "Let's get started."

Sebastian greeted everyone else and, while there were a lot of smiles, he could tell that some of them resented the fact the he had gotten the role because he knew Rory.

"So who's Romeo?" Sebastian asked.

The girl who was playing Rosaline rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know."

"Emily, knock it off," Rory hissed. "Of course I haven't told him...yet."

Emily looked for all the world like a female Sebastian. She had dark hair and piercing brown eyes. Sebastian didn't think for a second that was anything but intentional.

This Romeo in the play definitely had a type.

Sebastian looked at everyone in turn. "All right, don't keep me in suspense. Who is it?"

Everyone just stared at him back.

"Someone say something," he pleaded.

Rory grinned. "I am."

Sebastian turned to him with wide eyes and mouth hanging open. When he was finally able to pick his jaw off the ground he blurted out, "Bullshit."

* * *

"What's the matter, Seb?" Rory asked with a twinkle in his eye. "Worried you won't be able to keep up?"

Sebastian recovered quickly. "No, darling," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I know I can act circles around you any day. I'm worried you won't be able to put your money where your mouth is."

The assembled cast oohed, clapping and stomping their feet.

"Oh I don't think my mouth will be a problem," Rory quipped back with a saucy wink. "Just make sure you don't faint like you did at RADA."

Sebastian frowned. "I fainted, not because Claire Vandermott kissed me, but because I had been rehearsing nonstop for three days and nights for the play." He leaned in close and whispered, "Keep up the schoolyard bullying, Rory dear, and I might just let slip about that Dutch hemorrhoid cream ad."

"You like playing dirty, Sebastian, don't you?" Rory whispered back. "Don't worry, I'll play nice. I have other ways of getting you back after all."

"I'll be waiting," Sebastian said darkly.

"All right, you two!" Simon called from the auditorium floor. "It's time to get started. We're going to do a little warm up game and then we'll do a read through."

Rory turned around to face their director and smiled warmly. "Of course! Time and tide wait for no man."

"But women are eternal!" one of the actresses called from the back.

Rory's eyebrows shot up. "Allison Lawson, as I live and breathe. I thought you turned down our humble play in favor of some big Hollywood picture."

"I turned down the role of Lady Montague, but when I was offered Lady Capulet, how could I refuse?" Allison replied haughtily.

Allison Lawson was beautiful woman in her early fifties, who was a fixture of the Shakespearean circuit and had starred in many Hollywood productions of the Bard's plays. If Rory was the feather in Simon's hat for being Romeo, than having her play Lady Capulet was the crown jewels.

"As I've said, Allison," Simon said, annoyed, "it's not _Lady_ Capulet. This is a modern update of the story: and it's _Angelica_."

"Whatever you say, _darling_ ," Allison purred.

Simon pursed his lips. "All right, everyone. We are going to play _Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar_."

Most of the cast groaned, but did it anyway. And then it was time for the first read through.

A man in his early forties, blond hair and piercing blue eyes stood up and walked to center stage. His rich voice filled auditorium as he began to read the famous opening.

"Two households alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene—" He stopped and looked at where the audience would be and raised an eyebrow.

"What are we? Some dried up Shakespearean actors?" he scoffed. "Oh hell no!"

He mimed throwing away the script and shook his head. "'Tale of woe'? Not this time. This is the not-so-tragic story of Romeo and Jules. And I'm telling it the way I _want_."

Simon clapped. "Good job, Rhys. Forceful as ever. All right, then the scene changes behind him and the Shakespearean trappings make way for a modern setting."

There were sounds of pages rustling as the actors picked up their scripts and turned the page.

The read-through went just fine, but Sebastian could tell that the only reason the death glares his direction were kept to a minimum were due to Allison or Rhys giving a discrete cough or returning a glare of their own. They were staunch professionals and they weren't going to let a pretty feud get in the way of them performing this play.

After most people had gone, Sebastian stopped by Simon to have a word.

"Hey, so I don't know if Rory told you, but..." Sebastian trailed off.

"About your other job?" Simon guessed with a smile.

Sebastian bit his lip. "Yeah, that. Look, you have to know I'm dedicated to this one hundred percent, but I can't leave my other job in a lurch and may need to dash off on occasion..."

Simon chuckled. "It's fine. It's not like you're in every scene. If you aren't here we can work on other scenes."

"That's not fair!" Emily cried from behind them.

The two men turned to face her.

She looked back and forth between them. "If he can't commit than he shouldn't have the job."

"I've made similar arrangements with other actors," Simon replied with a shrug. "Yes, he's one of our leads, but you just heard him say that he's committed. Give him a chance, Em. He might just surprise you."

Emily threw her arms in the air and stomped off.

Rory came up and pointed at her. "She's not going to be a problem, is she?" He crossed his arms. "Because if she is, I'll fire her and get someone else."

Simon sighed. "No, no. Of course not. She's just one of those people who haven't realized that acting is a large part of who you know in addition to talent. She'll come around."

Rory frowned. "She'd better."

Sebastian put his hand on Rory's shoulder. "It'll be fine. It's not theater without some drama behind the scenes. Remember 'Death of a Salesman' and that shrew who kept going on and on about being upstaged?"

Rory chuckled. "She didn't even have any lines. The only reason she wasn't kicked out was because her mother was the seamstress."

Simon smiled. "There you go. Everything will work out just fine."


End file.
